Wednesday, June 17, 2009

My First Book Signing Tour!!!





By Debby Giusti





When my agent and award-winning author Deidre Knight asked if I wanted to be part of a book signing tour, I jumped at the chance. The weekend was delightful, and I thought you might be interested in what I learned.

The photo right shows all of us (left to right): Maria Geraci, Debby Giusti, Jennifer St. Giles, Shannon K. Butcher and Deidre. Deidre's assistant Jia Gayles (in photo below right) made sure everything happened on time. Thanks, Jia, for all your hard work!

Booksellers are wonderful! At each stop, the booksellers made our signings special with posters and wonderful displays of our books. They were as excited as we were. In the future, I’ll be more apt to schedule signings, knowing how much they appreciate authors who interact with their readers. The photo below shows Deidre (middle) and Debby (right) with Jonathan Tonge, owner of Dog Ear Books, in Madison, Georgia.

Give a talk on writing prior to the signing. Many of the folks in the audience were writers who wanted to learn how we got published. Each of the authors gave a short pitch about our own writing journey, and then we opened it up for questions. All of us—writers and readers, alike—learned from the Q&A.

Send out lots of publicity. The authors blogged about the tour prior to the weekend, and the various bookstores sent information to their database of readers. I also sent a special email to writers I thought might enjoy meeting my agent. Many of them came to support me, but they also were able to talk about their work to Deidre. I was thrilled when she asked a number of them to submit their manuscripts to her agency.

Bring promotional items. Readers are often shy about meeting authors so I like to get out from behind the signing table and introduce myself to them. Having a bookmark, candy or other giveaway helps to break the ice.

Make it fun! Jia brought balloons. One of the bookstores provided beverages for those who attended. Each night the authors went out to dinner. Of course, we talked about writing and our favorite books. On Friday, we celebrated Shannon’s birthday with a yummy chocolate cake.

Spend the night. To cut down on driving, most of us stayed in Madison, Georgia, home of The Knight Agency. Having our hotel close by kept us well rested and ready for the next event.

Book tours are easy to do and lots of fun! Next time I have a book coming out, I’ll contact some of my author friends to see who wants to go on tour. Shoppers swarm the malls at the beginning of the month so I’ll schedule the tour with that in mind. Hope to see you there!!!

Happy writing! Happy reading!

Wishing you abundant blessings,
Debby Giusti
http://www.debbygiusti.com/
http://www.ladiesofsuspense.blogspot.com/

PROTECTING HER CHILD
By
Debby Giusti

“WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BABY?”

Wealthy heiress Eve Townsend is close to death. But before she dies, she has to know: what happened to the daughter she gave up for adoption twenty-four years before? Did she inherit her mother’s life-threatening disease? Medical researcher Pete Worth is ready to find answers by tracking her down. And when he finally locates Meredith Lassiter, he finds her widowed, pregnant and on the run. The loan sharks who killed her husband want her dead…and Pete is the only one standing in their way.

Winner of the 2008 Daphne du Maurier Award for Inspirational Suspense, medical technologist Debby Giusti writes spine-chilling Christian fiction for Steeple Hill. PROTECTING HER CHILD, her fifth book and the second story in her Magnolia Medical series, was released in May. CHRISTMAS PERIL will feature her novella YULE DIE in December, and KILLER HEADLINE will follow in February 2010. Her first three books, NOWHERE TO HIDE, SCARED TO DEATH and MIA: MISSING IN ATLANTA are available in hardcover by Thorndike. In addition to full-length fiction, Debby has written articles for numerous magazines, including Southern Lady, Woman’s World, Our Sunday Visitor, Army and Family. For over twelve years, she served on the editorial advisory board of ADVANCE for Administrators of the Laboratory and wrote extensively on emerging infectious diseases for that magazine. For more information about Debby and her books, visit her web site at: http://www.debbygiusti.com/.

14 comments:

Maria Geraci said...

Nice tips, Debby! The weekend was so much fun. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

EllenToo said...

Glad to hear your first book signing tour was such fun and that it was a success. Maybe one day I'll get to meet one of my favorite real live authors.

Project Journal said...

Hi! I am new to this blog, but I decided I would check it out. I follow the CRAFTIE ladies blog. I will be honest, I have never read any of the Love Inspired Suspense novels. However, I am really interested. I am not subscribed to Love Inspired, so I have to watch and wait for them to come to Walmart or Kmart. Unfortunately, we rarely have the Suspense books in our stores. In conclusion, I am going to keep a sharp eye out for them so that I can read and contribute more on here, hopefully!
Your weekend sounded like a lot of fun! I have met a few of my favorite authors, but none of my Steeple Hill authors. Like Ellen, I hope to someday be able to meet them!
Thanks,
Hannah

Project Journal said...

Oh! I also wanted to say(but I forgot) that I think your book looks great! I think that it might be the first Love Inspired Suspense book I go for! I'll try to get to Walmart tonight to look. I have more time today because it's the last day of school! Yay! I will officially be a senior at 2:24 this afternoon. Obviously, we're not doing anything today because I got the chance to come on her AT SCHOOL! I love the last day of school...
Thanks,
Hannah

Debby Giusti said...

Hi Maria,
I was getting ready to send you an email about today's blog. But you found me!!! :)

Thanks for stopping by. Maria's debut, Bunko Babes Tell All, is out now. Be sure to look for it in your favorite bookstore.

Let's do another tour next year, okay, Maria?

Debby Giusti said...

Ellen,
I hope we meet in person one of these days. You're already a friend because of this blog!

Debby Giusti said...

Hi Hannah,
The Love Inspired and Love Inspired Suspense books don't stay on the shelf long so you have to snatch them up when you see them. Protecting Her Child came out in May, and a new group of LIS are out now.

But, you can always order the books through this blogspot by clicking on the covers. That will take you to Amazon.com. They're easy to order, and if you buy in bulk, the shipping is free.

Thanks for posting a comment, Hannah. All the Craftie Ladies love chatting online. Hope you'll come back again.

In case you didn't know, everyone who posts a comment is entered in our monthly drawing for the LIS books out that month. Keep checking back. The winner's name is listed on the home page.

Debby Giusti said...

Hannah!
Happy Summer Vacation! Hope you get to read lots of good books while school is out. Enjoy your time and stop back often!

Project Journal said...

Thanks Debby! I certainly will. This summer I'm traveling quite a bit, so I can read on all of the long over-seas flights!
Hannah

Debby Giusti said...

Oh, Hannah! Are you traveling out of the country? Enjoy every minute! Let us hear from you when you get to an Internet Cafe!

Jia Gayles said...

Hey Debby! Great recap of the tour. I had such a wonderful time working with all of you lovely ladies. Truly.

Like you, I highly recommend that authors think about inviting a "buddy" to share the spotlight during a book signing event. Not only will it increase your audience, but it also helps to ease the burden of "meeting and greeting" so many new people.

The Knight Agency is definitely going to plan another one of these events for the future. This was just the beginning!! :) Guess who we will call first!

Debby Giusti said...

Hi Jia!
Thanks for all your hard work on the tour. I wrote in my blog that tours are easy. Bet you could set me straight! I'm sure you spent hours on the phone and on email arranging the wonderful weekend.

Big hug coming your way!

Project Journal said...

Yes, I am traveling out of the country. My grandparent's, mom, sister, aunt, and I will be going to Wales, Isle of Jersey, and France! We have traveled to Ireland, Isle of Jersey, Isle of Guernsey, Holland, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Germany in the past 3 years. I love traveling, especially with my family!
Hannah

Deborah M said...

Hi Debby,

Your book signing sounds like a lot of fun. I believe you are going to be at the Decatur Book Festival signing books there in Sept. I am looking forward to meeting you. I live about an hour away and have attended for the past two years. If you haven't been before you are in for a treat.
Debbie M